Albany Institute of History & Art Library BP 413 JAGGER FAMILY COLLECTION ca. 1840-1956 1.75 lin. ft., 5 boxes Series I Correspondence and Personal Papers (1876-1940) Series II. Photographs (ca. 1840-1956) April 1999
BP 413 2 Biographical Note The papers and photographs in this collection record the history of the Jagger family of Albany from ca. 1840 (the approximate date of the earliest photograph) to 1956 (a date-stamped snapshot), but the bulk of the collection covers the years 1891 to 1900. Franklin A. Jagger was one of two sons of Ira Jagger, a successful stove manufacturer and iron smelter whose name first appears in the 1845 Albany city directory. Franklin married Lillian May White, one of ten children of Amanda Wooster White, at her family's home in Gloversville, NY, on July 2, 1876. Franklin and Lillian lived for several years with his parents at 245 Lark Street, and, in 1883, moved with them to 429 Clinton Avenue. After Ira Jagger's death on April 8, 1891, Franklin Jagger bought a house at, 420 Clinton Avenue, where most of the photographs in this collection were made. In 1899, the Jaggers moved up Clinton Avenue to 11 McPherson Terrace, into a block of attached houses. Franklin Jagger was identified in the city directories of the period as a bookkeeper for his uncle's lumber firm, Austin Kibbee & Sons, with an office at 427 Broadway. The firm operated in the Lumber District in North Albany, but there are no photographs of the lumber operations in this collection. The family photographs reveal the Jagger family to be reasonably well off. Some of the pictures were taken at "The Farm" in South Bethlehem, a day's journey from Albany by horse-drawn rig; it is not clear, however, whether the Jaggers owned the farm or were paying guests there. Franklin and Lillian Jagger had two sons, Ira F. and Claude Abbott. Ira was the elder, but there are no records in the collection of their birth dates. Ira F. Jagger married Olive Burton. They remained in Albany, and he became an assistant cashier and trust officer at the Mechanics and Farmers Bank at 63 State Street, Albany. In 1908, they moved to 45 Manning Boulevard South, in the newly developed Pine Hills neighborhood. He died in September 1946. Olive Jagger was a poet, and the collection includes several examples of her work. Many of them are marked "sold", but lack dates and the names of publications. Claude Jagger became an engineer at General Electric Company in Schenectady, and had a hand in developing devices that are described in the correspondence held in Series I. He married Gertrude B. Way and they lived in Schenectady. Henry Jagger, the brother of Franklin, married Lillian White Jagger's sister Mary; they left Albany and lived in various places in the far west. The Jagger Family Papers came to the McKinney Library in 1969 from the estate of Ira Jagger.
BP 413 3 Scope and Content Note The Jagger Family Collection spans the period from ca. 1840 to 1956 and primarily contains photographs relating to their personal and family life. The collection is divided into two series: Series I. Correspondence and Personal Papers; and Series II. Photographs. Series I. Correspondence and Personal Papers (1876-1940) includes the wedding certificate for Franklin Jagger and Lillian White marriage on July 2, 1876. There is one scrapbook of clippings of letters to the editor and travel columns that Mr. Jagger wrote, along with other clippings that interested him. Also included are memorabilia from Claude Jagger's high school days, correspondence relating to his employment by General Electric Company, poems written by Olive Jagger, and correspondence with the Way family (who were related to Claude's wife, Gertrude). There also are several miscellaneous items, including an advertisement for Ira Jagger's iron company and calling cards for Kibbee & Sons, in folder 8. Series II. Photographs (ca. 1840-1956), is divided into four subseries: Family; Houses; Scenes; and Miscellaneous. The Family subseries is further arranged into groups by name: Claude A.; Franklin; Ira F.; Lillian; and Other Family Members and Friends. The Houses subseries includes interior and exterior photographs taken at their homes at 245 Lark Street, 420 Clinton Avenue, and their farm at South Bethlehem, NY. The Scenes subseries is arranged by locale, and include places in and around Albany that the family visited, such as Washington Park, Cohoes Falls, Normans Kill, the City of Albany's Filtration Plant. Miscellaneous photographs includes photographs of family pets, and unidentified photographs are just that: prints which have no identification but came with the collection. Primarily portraits, many were taken locally and are perhaps friends of the Jagger families. Many of the faces bear some resemblance to the Jagger family, but there is no confirmation of their identities or dates; it is likely, however, that the people are related in some manner to the Jaggers or the Whites. Portraits taken at studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Walla Walla, for example, are possibly members of the Henry Jagger family. Likewise, photos from studios in Gloversville and Toronto are probably related to Lillian White Jagger. A photograph album in 5, folder 39, contains scenes taken at Albany Rural Cemetery and the Catskill Mountain House. The series ends with the oldest photograph in the collection, a daguerreotype of unidentified two women and a man. Franklin Jagger took most of the photographs of his family, their houses, and their friends, and wrote notes identifying them. One is labeled "first picture taken with this camera;" others are noted "flashlight" (referring to powdered magnesium that flared when ignited). The Jagger Family Collection was processed by Francis S. (Doc) Rivett from February through April 1999.
BP 413 4 Series I. Correspondence and Personal Papers 1 1 Correspondence 1882-1913 2 Financial records 1930, 1949 3 Marriage certificate 1876 4 Military papers 1917-24 5 Poems and essays 1921, 6 School memorabilia 1897-1900 7 Scrapbook 1902-09 8 Miscellaneous ephemera 1845, 1956,
BP 413 5 Series II. Photographs Arranged in five subseries: Family; Residences; Scenes; Miscellaneous; Unidentified. FAMILY Jagger, Claude Abbott 2 9 with Cato, the family dog with Cato at 420 Clinton (3 prints, 2 are copies) 1892 with friends and cousins at 420 Clinton (2 prints) 1892 Aug portrait by Sterry studio (2 copies) 1894 on bicycle in yard at 420 Clinton 1895 Aug 10 with two girls in yard at 420 Clinton portrait by Albany Art Union with James Robert White at 420 Clinton with unidentified man at 420 Clinton (2 prints) with men on stone wall 11 with Gertrude at tennis court on honeymoon with Gertrude and 3 others, Sacandaga Park 1907 Aug with Gertrude and others (4 prints) in touring car with others (2 prints) formal portrait as an older man in group, front row right Jagger, Franklin 12 Portrait (in later years) with Lillian in yard at 420 Clinton 1892 with Lillian, unidentified site with Lillian, Ira and Claude 13 with Lillian, Ira and Claude at 420 Clinton (2 prints) with Lillian, Ira and Claude at 420 Clinton (2 prints) with Ira and Claude at 420 Clinton (2 prints) 1892 With family outside hotel at New Baltimore for launching of lumber barge W.B. Kibbee 1892 Apr 23 [2] 14 with family members (Lillian, Ira F., Claude, James R. White, and Amanda White) inside 420 Clinton, posing and playing instruments (7 prints)
BP 413 6 Series II. Photographs (cont.) FAMILY (cont.) Jagger, Franklin (cont.) 15 with bicycle and children at 420 Clinton (2 prints) 1893 at the farm in wooded section of the farm Jagger, Ira F. 16 portrait, by McDonald and Sterry portrait, by Brown portrait, by Albany Art Union (3 prints) with Claude at Sterry & Co. 1889 Jun 29 with Claude and Cato at 429 Clinton Avenue 1890 with Claude and Cato by Sterry & Co.(3 prints) 17 with Claude at the farm with Claude and two women at 420 Clinton with Claude, J.R. White and 3 women at 420 Clinton Jagger, Lillian 18 Formal portrait by Wendell Studio (3 copies) n.d Formal portrait by Albany Art Union with Ira, Claude and Cato at 420 Clinton, "1st picture taken with the camera" 1890 with Ira, Claude, and Cato at 429 Clinton 1891 Jul with Ira and Claude, inside 420 Clinton 1892 Feb with Claude and unknown couple at 420 Clinton 1892 Feb with Ira, Claude, Cato, and Freddie Wilson 1892 Jul 4 19 with Cato in yard at 420 Clinton 1891 Jul in dress she wore at Jennie White wedding 1895 Sep 11 with unidentified woman
BP 413 7 Series II. Photographs (cont.) FAMILY (cont.) Other Family Members and Friends 3 20 Ira Jagger with Franklin, Lillian, Ira F., Claude and Henry at 429 Clinton (2 copies) Amanda Wooster White Amanda White and James White at 420 Clinton 1890 Sep 1884, Amanda.White, Lillian Jagger, Maude White, Amy Gilson, Amy Holmes, and Claude Jagger 1894 Amanda White, Lillian Jagger, Minnie Amsdell and Maude White at 420 Clinton 1894 Aug 21 Group on stairs, including Franklin, Lillian, Ira, Claude, James White and others (2 copies) Group on stairs: six young women Emma White Wilson at 420 Clinton 1892 Lillias Wilson at Gloversville 1892 Feb Five children performing Children on toboggan slide, 420 Clinton 22 Ernest A. White (2 prints) 1891 Jul Mrs. Eastman 1890 Feb James Robert White by Brown Studio James White and his studio, East Albany (2 prints) James Robert White with friend Rev. Lyman Davis and family Rev. Lyman Davis (with thank you note) 1916 Nov 30 RESIDENCES 254 Lark Street 23 Jagger Mansion (2 prints) 1891-92 420 Clinton Avenue 24 Exterior and views of yard (10 prints) 1892-95, 25 Interior views (9 prints) 1891-92
BP 413 8 Series II. Photographs (cont.) RESIDENCES (cont.) The Farm at South Bethlehem [3] 26 Scenes with family members (9 prints) 1890-91 27 Scenes with family members (6 prints) 1892-94, SCENES 4 28 Washington Park, Albany (5 prints) 29 Cohoes Falls, Cohoes (8 prints) 1891, 30 Normans Kill, South Albany (2 prints) 1893, Filtration plant, North Albany (3 prints) Fort Crailo (Van Rensselaer house, Rensselaer) 1892 Van Rensselaer Manor House, North Albany 1892 Mar 24 Van Rensselaer office, Broadway near Pleasant St. 1894 Old Tweddle Malthouse, State and Lark Streets 1895 Jul 31 West Sand Lake, NY Sir William Johnson house, Johnstown (2 prints) 1894 Feb Bridge over Mohawk at Aqueduct, Schenectady Niagara Falls (2 prints of oil painting) Unidentified people, Niagara Falls (2 prints) New York City sightseeing bus Unidentified house Unidentified bell MISCELLANEOUS 32 Family pets Cato at 420 Clinton (3 prints, 2 are copies) 1892-3 Farm dog (no name) Romulus the cat at 420 Clinton Avenue Pig at farm (2 prints)
BP 413 9 Series II. Photographs (cont.) MISCELLANEOUS (cont.) Unidentified [4] 33 Men, women and a child in informal and formal portraits; photographers include Veeder, Brown, and McDonald's (Albany) (10 prints, 3 are copies) 34 Men, women and a child in informal and formal portraits; photographers include Veeder, Brown, and McDonald's, McDonald & Sterry, Sterry & Co. (Albany) (8 prints) 35 Men and women in informal and formal portraits; photographers include F. Girard and D. Scidmore, (Gloversville) (10 prints) 36 Men, women and children in informal and formal portraits; photographers include Partridge (Portland, OR), Brodeck (Walla Walla), New York Gallery (San Francisco), Perkins Studio (Toronto) 37 Men, women and children in informal and formal portraits; photographers include C.F. Kohler (Los Angeles) (7 prints) 38 Men, women and children in informal and formal portraits; photographers include Sterry (Albany), Brown (Albany), Elite (San Francisco) (9 prints) 1956, 5 39 Photograph album 40 Daguerreotype of man and two women, with copy print ca. 1840,